India assumed the Presidency of the Group of 20 this December. The world’s third largest emitter is moving beyond a transition strategy based squarely on solar development by branching out into emerging fields such as hydrogen.
Present Energy status and future Predictions
Only country to keep promise: India is one of the few countries that has kept to its Paris Agreement (21st Conference of Parties or COP21 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) commitments, with an exponential increase in renewable energy capacity.
Energy through renewables: It is anticipated that by 2050, 80-85 per cent of India’s overall power capacity will come from renewables by achieving the nationally determined contributions commitments.
Reducing the fossil fuel: India had committed to increasing the share of non-fossil fuels to 40 per cent of the total electricity generation capacity by 2030.
Potential of hydrogen energy
6 million tonnes hydrogen: India consumes about six million tonnes of hydrogen annually to produce ammonia and methanol in industrial sectors, including fertilisers and refineries.
Rising demand of hydrogen: This could increase to 28 million tonnes by 2050, principally due to the rising demand from the industry.
Search for technology to generate: Ever since the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) shared that it is time for green hydrogen, private players have been looking for new technologies to generate it.
Electrolyser is inefficient: With the challenges of electrolyser capacity for generating green hydrogen globally, finding alternatives to foster green hydrogen in the country is essential.
Incentives from central government: The central government, the prime facilitator of such projects, has been coming up with new initiatives, policies and schemes to unleash the potential of green hydrogen generation and boost its demand.
Rational utilization of resources: The long-term low-emission development strategy of the country submitted to UNFCCC at COP27 focused on the rational utilisation of national resources for energy security in a just, smooth and sustainable manner.
Idea proposed by Pune Municipal Commission
Partnership with private player: PMC has partnered with business management consultant The Green Billions (TGBL) to manage its waste and generate it into useable green hydrogen. TGBL’s special purpose vehicle or subsidiary, Variate Pune Waste to Energy Private Ltd, will be undertaking the work.
Waste management: The new facility for generating hydrogen from waste will solve major problems of Inefficient waste management and carbon emissions. Waste management is one of the prime issues in the country, which is blamed for generating pollution in the surroundings.
Reducing carbon emissions: Pune, the second largest city in Maharashtra, hosts many industries, including steel, fertilisers and pharmaceutical industries. The emissions in the city increased by 12 per cent to 1.64-tonne carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2Eq) per capita in 2017 from 1.46 tonne tCO2Eq per capita in 2012.
How Hydrogen will be generated?
Hydrogen generation for 30 years: Variate Pune Waste to Energy Private Ltd will be managing and utilising the municipal waste of 350 tonnes per day (TPD) for generating hydrogen for 30 years. This waste will comprise biodegradable, non-biodegradable and domestic hazardous waste.
Plasma gasification technology: The Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) from the waste would later be utilised to generate hydrogen using plasma gasification technology. The technology has been developed while closely working with the Bhabha Atomic Research Institute (BARC) and the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
9MT Tonnes of H2: It is estimated that 150TPD RDF and 9MT tonnes of H2 would be generated out of 350 TPD waste.
Decarbonising the city: The hydrogen generated at the facility will be utilised locally to help the city lower its emissions. As the Centre is focusing on industrial decarbonisation and facing the challenges of just transition, the project can prove to be a game-changer in helping industries reduce carbon emissions.
Conclusion
In India, where the hydrogen industry is nascent, it is imperative to keep the cost of hydrogen competitive to expand its usage in various sectors. TGBL will work on the same by making hydrogen affordable and easier to switch in the just-transition.
A state’s desire to control ‘cyberspace’ within its borders is achieved by exercising what is called ‘cyber sovereignty’. While some countries such as the United States (US) support the free flow of information, others like China, by default, restrict the flow for its citizens, leading to the fragmentation of the internet.
A cyber threat or cyber security threat is defined as a malicious act intended to steal or damage data or disrupt the digital wellbeing and stability of an enterprise.
Cyber threats include a wide range of attacks ranging from data breaches, computer viruses, denial of service, and numerous other attack vectors.
What is cyberspace?
Defined by Cyber security expert Daniel Kuehl: cyberspace is a global domain within the information system whose distinctive and unique character is framed by the use of electronics and the electromagnetic spectrum to create, store, modify, exchange, and exploit information via independent and interconnected networks using information-communication technologies.
Traditionally three layers of cyberspace: Traditionally, cyberspace was understood only in three layers: the physical/hardware, neural/software, and data.
Forth layer of social interaction and sovereignty: Alexander Klimburg, in his book The Darkening Web, introduced a fourth layer that deals with the social interaction among the three layers: “If cyberspace can be said to have a soul or mind, this is where it is. Establishing control over all the layers is necessary to build sovereignty in cyberspace.
What is Cyber sovereignty?
Term coined by Bruce Schneir: One of the leading voices in internet governance, Bruce Schneier, has coined the term as the attempt of governments to take control over sections of the internet within their borders.
It is about Internet governance: The term cyber sovereignty stems from internet governance and usually means the ability to create and implement rules in cyberspace through state governance.
Cyber sovereignty does not necessarily mean governance by state: Cyber sovereignty does not necessarily have to mean governance by a state. It first and foremost refers to the ability to create and implement rules in cyberspace. Alternatively, one could say it refers to the authority to speak the law, i.e., having juris-diction, in cyberspace.
Technology that drives policy decisions: In contrast to other technologies whose development is driven by policy, here it is technology which drives policy decisions. These characteristics make cyberspace governance complex and lead to confrontations among states and other stakeholders.
Whether states should be held accountable for cyber-attacks emanating from their territory?
Sovereignty as defined by ICJ: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) defines sovereignty as that which confers rights upon states and imposes obligations on them. This implies that states must control their cyber infrastructure and prevent it from being knowingly or unknowingly used to harm other states and non-state actors.
Who comes under the cyber sovereignty ambit: The state, or the citizens of the state, if involved in attacking other states or non-state actors’ cyber facilities, also come under the ambit of cyber sovereignty.
Implications of Cyber sovereignty
Cyber sovereignty restricts the free flow of information: The internet was created to promote the free flow of information, but cyber sovereignty works the other way around. Restricting the flow of information can also put global businesses at risk due to the lack of interoperability it leads to.
It may lead to data imperialism: Control over the data could lead to new forms of colonialism and imperialism, commonly referred to as ‘data colonisation’ and ‘data imperialism’ in the digital era. States and private players can overreach their powers and violate human rights through cyberspace surveillance, controlling information flow, and enforcing internet shutdowns.
Implications from the fragmentation of the internet to violation of human rights: The implications are broad, impinging on citizens’ rights such as privacy, freedom of expression, access to information, press freedom, freedom of belief, non-discrimination and equality, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, due process and personal security.
For instance: Access to geolocation data can give insights into people who participated in a protest. Further, based on a user’s online behaviour, it is possible to determine a person’s sexual orientation, political affiliation and religious beliefs.
Example to understand the Implication of cyber sovereignty
In 2009, seeking justice for their co-workers whom the Han Chinese killed in a doll factory, Uighurs, a Muslim minority community in China, organised a protest using Facebook and Uighur-language blogs.
Following this incident, Facebook and Twitter were blocked across the country, and the internet was shut down for ten months in the region.
Following the incident, the Chinese government, with the help of the private sector, developed AI-enabled applications like the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (Ijop) to monitor the daily activities of Uighur Muslims. This app obtains information like skin colour, facial features, properties owned, payments, and personal relationships, and reports if there are any suspicious activities. An investigation is initiated if the systems flag any person. Data is gathered 24/7 to carry out mass surveillance.
Value addition notes: Consider these for Essays
Unlike other spaces such as land, sea, air, and outer space, cyberspace was created by humans; therefore, complete control can be established over it.
Countries have tried to frame policies and rules to regulate cyberspace by building the necessary infrastructure.
This can be seen as either a defensive mechanism that states use to protect their own critical infrastructure or a framework adopted to exploit other states’ resources.
It has led to a security dilemma and added fuel to the fire of great-power politics.
Realising its importance, states have started to see cyberspace as equivalent to physical territory, and are building virtual walls to protect their ‘cyber territory’ with the help of various technologies.
Conclusion
It is often said that information is wealth, competition has developed between states, and between state and non-state actors, to control and access this wealth. The dichotomy of states trying to protect the data generated in their territory by introducing data protection laws but, simultaneously, wanting to exploit other states’ data is adding to the complexity.
Mains question
Q. Technological advancements have made cyberspace an integral part of human lives. In this context, what do you understand by Cyber sovereignty. Discuss the implications of cyber sovereignty.
When we look back at Indian handlooms, what is certain is that the craft world has changed, not in the slow-paced gradual way of changes in the past, but much faster than before. India can be a world leader in the sustainable production of cotton textiles.
Supplier from the ancient times: The weavers of India have supplied the markets of the world with cotton cloth since at least the first century of the Common Era.
Fine varieties of cotton were the source of wealth: In pre-industrial times, the many varieties of Indian cotton cloth bafta, mulmul, mashru, jamdani, moree, percale, nainsukh, chintz, etc were the source of India’s fabled wealth.
Spun by hand: Until colonial times, the yarn for handloom weaving in India had been spun by hand.
Invention of spinning machines: With the invention of spinning machinery in Britain and the import of machine-spun cotton yarn, this occupation vanished.
Impact of colonial policies on Indian handlooms
Economic policies dictated by British: Since India was a British colony, the British dictated its economic policies.
Raw material exported while machine made fabric imported: Machine-woven cotton fabrics began to be imported, while raw cotton was shipped out to supply British industry.
Variety of cotton from India was not suitable for machinery, so they forced uniformity: Though Indian varieties of cotton produced the finest fabrics the world has yet seen, the famous Dhaka muslins, they were unsuited to the newly invented textile machinery, while American cotton varieties that have a longer, stronger staple, were more suited to machine processing. The machines needed a uniform kind of cotton, so the hundreds of varieties of Indian cotton which had been bred over centuries now had to become uniform. Diversity, until then valued, became a handicap.
By 1947 uniform production established and variety lost: By 1947, mass production was well established, and India’s own spinning and weaving mills took over the role of Lancashire. American cotton varieties and their hybrids gradually replaced native ones, so now, native varieties grow only in a few pockets
What did this mean for Indian cotton farmers?
New practices changed the nature of production from sustainable to commercial: Cotton in India is grown largely by small farmers, and the new practices have changed the nature of farm practices from sustainable, family-based agriculture to intensive commercial farming with severe and tragic consequences.
Seeds from companies were expensive: Seeds come from large multinationals, rather than the farmer’s own stock, and are expensive.
Desi varieties of seeds were rainfed lost rapidly: While the desi varieties were rain-fed, the American varieties need irrigation, which increases humidity. Humidity encourages pests and fungi.
Cost of cultivation increased with use of fertilizers: A cocktail of chemicals fertiliser, pesticide and fungicide is used which adds to the cost of cultivation, but does not guarantee a good harvest.
Debt increased farmers misery: The farmer runs up huge debts hoping for a good crop, but India’s weather is variable, groundwater is fast depleting. If the crop fails, the risks are entirely the farmer’s. The distress of the cotton farmer has even led to suicides. The introduction of genetically-modified seeds has led to more severe problems.
Relationship between energy shift and the cotton production
Renewable energy in 21st century: Just as energy from fossil fuels ushered in the era of mass production in the 19th century, it will be clean, renewable energy that will take the small-scale environmental Indian industries to the top of the heap in the 21st century.
Emphasis for low energy manufacturing: As fossil fuels deplete, earlier notions of efficiency will change, and low-energy manufacturing processes will gain value.
Handwoven fabrics will gain importance again: At the same time, markets are becoming saturated with look-alike products from factory-style mass production, and there are more customers for the individualised products dispersed production can offer. Small-batch handwoven fabrics will become desirable in the changing markets.
Interesting: Malkha a sustainable fabric
Malkha is pure cotton cloth made directly from raw cotton in the village close to cotton fields and combines traditional Indian principles of cloth making with modern small-scale technology.
Malkha is energy efficient, avoids baling and unbaling of cotton by heavy machinery and unnecessary transport.
It provides an alternative to the mass production of cotton yarn.
Malkha has also added natural dyeing of yarn to make its fabrics even more sustainable.
Conclusion
The world is looking for green industries. Over the next 25 years, as independent India turns 100, handloom weaving located close to cotton fields can make it a world leader in sustainable production.
Mains question
Q. The weavers of India have supplied the markets of the world with cotton cloth since at least the first century of the Common Era. In this context Discuss the impact of British policies on Indian handloom.
Last week, the Union Government tabled the Jan Vishwas Bill, 2022, (Bill) in the Parliament with the objective of “decriminalising” 183 offences across 42 legislations and enhancing the ease of living and doing business in India.
Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022,
It sought to amend 42 Acts to reduce the compliance burden on individuals and businesses and ensure ease of doing business.
Some Acts that are amended by the Bill include: the Indian Post Office Act, 1898, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, and the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Key provisions of the Bill
(1) Replacing imprisonment with money penalty:
Under the Bill, several offences with an imprisonment term in certain Acts have been decriminalised by imposing only a monetary penalty under the –
Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937, counterfeiting grade designation marks is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to five thousand rupees. The Bill replaces this with a penalty of eight lakh rupees.
Information Technology Act, 2000, disclosing personal information in breach of a lawful contract is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine of up to five lakh rupees, or both. The Bill replaces this with a penalty of up to 25 lakh rupees.
Patents Act, 1970, a person selling a falsely represented article as patented in India is subject to a fine of up to one lakh rupees. The Bill replaces the fine with a penalty, which may be up to ten lakh rupees. In case of a continuing claim, there shall be an additional penalty of one thousand rupees per day.
(2) Revision of fines and penalties:
The Bill increases the fines and penalties for various offences in the specified Acts.
Further, these fines and penalties will be increased by 10% of the minimum amount every three years.
It is a welcome move and can be viewed as an attempt to reverse the trend of overcriminalisation. However, there is much that needs to be done in order to institutionalise efforts aimed at decriminalisation.
Why was this legislation brought up?
Rise in criminal cases: An unprincipled growth of criminal law has long been a cause of concern for scholars of law.
Political motives: The act of criminalisation often becomes a medium for governments to put across a strong image as opposed to punishing wrongful conduct.
Over-criminalization: Governments offer little in the way of justifications to support such decisions. This phenomenon has been termed “overcriminalisation” by scholars.
Increased burden on Judiciary: As per the National Judicial Data Grid, of the 4.3 crore pending cases, nearly 3.2 crore cases are in relation to criminal proceedings.
Overcrowding of prisons: Similarly, the rise in the prison population is also proof of this. As per the NCRB’s Prison Statistics of 2021, a total of 5.54 lakh prisoners were confined in prisons against a capacity of 4.25 lakh.
Scope of the Bill
Hefty fines cannot create deterrence: The Jan Vishwas Bill either omits penal provisions or replaces them with fines in legislation. These are primarily offences which are regulatory in nature.
Quasi-decriminalisation: By and large, an examination of the provisions of the Bill reveals that stress has been on the replacement of imprisonment clauses with fines. This can hardly be termed as ‘decriminalisation’.
Achieving decriminalisation in real sense
There is much that is required for the efforts aimed at decriminalisation to fructify in any meaningful way.
(1) Stigma of fines to create deterrence
In his seminal piece titled – ‘Is the Criminal Law a Lost Cause?’ Mr. Andrew Ashworth’s creates a distinction between regulatory offences and penal offences and exemplifies the same through the functional distinction between a tax and a fine.
While the purpose of a tax is primarily regulatory in nature, a fine carries with it an element of censure and stigma.
(2) De-linking petty economic offences with over-criminalization
Secondly, the Observer Research Foundation’s report titled Jailed for Doing Business found that there are more than 26,134 imprisonment clauses in a total of 843 economic legislations, rules and regulations which seek to regulate businesses and economic activities in India.
In this light, the number of offences deregulated under the Bill seems to be a mere drop in India’s regulatory framework.
(3) Regulatory offences to be considered for ‘decriminalisation’
This need to be prioritised not only from the point of view of the ease of doing business, but also from the points of view of the ills that plague our criminal justice system itself.
Debates are ongoing about the decriminalisation of several penal offences such as sedition, offences under NDPS Act & UAPA Acts, triple talaq and anti-conversion laws etc.
There is an urgent need to assess these offences on a principled basis.
Conclusion
The intent of the Bill is merely to ensure that imprisonment is replaced with fines for as many offences as possible.
The extent to which it succeeds in ‘decriminalising’ offences, however, is questionable.
If these faults are to be rectified, it is pertinent that a more comprehensive exercise is undertaken and that the government prioritises the needs and requirements of the criminal justice system.
Still this legislation is a welcome move in all senses.
The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE India) received an in-principle approval from the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to set-up Social Stock Exchange (SSE) as a separate segment.
What is Social Stock Exchange (SSE)?
SSE is a novel idea in India, and a stock exchange of this kind is intended to benefit the private and non-profit sectors by directing more capital to them.
During her Budget speech for the fiscal year 2019–20, Finance Minister first proposed the concept of SSE.
The Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 was then invoked by the government, which subsequently published a gazette notification announcing a new security as “zero coupon zero principal”.
The SSE will function as a distinct division of the current stock exchanges under the new regulations.
Who can list on SSE?
The SSE will be a distinct division of the current stock exchanges under the new regulations.
Not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) and for-profit social enterprises with social intent and impact as their primary goal will be eligible to participate in the SSE.
Additionally, such an intent should be shown by its emphasis on social goals that are appropriate for under-served or less privileged populations or areas.
The social enterprises will have to engage in a social activity out of 16 broad activities listed by the regulator.
The eligible activities include-
Eradicating hunger poverty, malnutrition and inequality
Promoting healthcare, supporting education, employability and livelihoods
Gender equality empowerment of women and LGBTQIA communities
Supporting incubators of social enterprise
Who are not eligible?
Corporate foundations, political or religious organisations or activities, professional or trade associations, infrastructure companies, and housing companies, with the exception of affordable housing, will not be eligible to be identified as social enterprises.
According to SEBI’s framework, minimum issue size of ₹1 crore and a minimum application size for subscription of ₹2 lakh are currently required for SSE.
Minimum requirements for sustenance
NPO needs to be registered as a charitable trust and should be registered for at least three years, must have spent at least ₹50 lakh annually in the past financial year.
They should have received a funding of at least ₹10 lakh in the past financial year.
The Centre launched City Finance Rankings 2022 and City Beauty Competition aimed at incentivising urban local bodies for improving cities’ public infrastructure and strengthening them on basis of key financial parameters.
What is City Finance Rankings?
It aims to evaluate, recognise, and reward urban local bodies on the basis of their strength across key financial parameters.
City Finance Rankings aim to motivate city and state officials and decision makers, to implement municipal finance reforms.
The participating urban local bodies will be evaluated on 15 indicators across three key municipal finance assessment parameters like resource mobilisation, expenditure performance, and fiscal governance.
The cities will be ranked at the national level on the basis of their scores under any one of the following four population categories:
Above 40 lakh
Between 10-40 lakh
1 lakh to 10 lakh and
Less than one lakh
The top three cities in each population category will be recognised and rewarded at the national level as well as within each state and state cluster
About City Beauty Competition
Wards and public places of cities would be judged against the five broad pillars (i) accessibility (ii) amenities (iii) activities (iv) aesthetics and (v) ecology.
It would felicitate most beautiful wards and beautiful public places at the city level.
It aims to encourage and recognise the transformational efforts made by cities and wards in India to create beautiful, innovative and inclusive public spaces
The Ministry of Railways, as part of its station redevelopment drive, has formulated Amrit Bharat Station Scheme to modernize over 1,000 small stations over the coming years.
Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
Under this, stations will be equipped with facilities inspired by the mega-upgradation of marquee stations such as New Delhi and Ahmedabad, albeit at a lower cost.
Key features of these proposed stations include provisions for roof top plazas, longer platforms, ballast-less tracks, and 5G connectivity.
The scheme will subsume all previous redevelopment projects where work is yet to begin.
Implementation strategy
The model envisages low-cost redevelopment of stations which can be executed timely.
Zonal railways have been given the responsibility of selecting stations, which will then be approved by a committee of senior railway officials.
Plans and consequent budgets will only be approved on the basis of factors such as footfall and inputs from stakeholders.
Facilities Planned under this Scheme
Provision for Roof Plaza to be created in future
Free Wi-Fi, space for 5G mobile towers
Smooth access by widening of roads, removal of unwanted structures, properly designed signages, dedicated pedestrian pathways, well-planned parking areas, improved lighting etc.
High level platforms (760-840 mm) at all stations with a length of 600 metres
2023 is set to be another busy year. Here are five of the most exciting missions to watch out for.
(1) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer
In April, the European Space Agency (ESA) is set to launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice), in what will be Europe’s first dedicated robotic mission to Jupiter.
Juice is due to reach the planet in July 2031 after performing an incredible flight path through the Solar System.
The mission will enter into orbit around Jupiter and perform numerous flybys of its large icy moons: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
After four years of moon flybys, Juice will then enter into orbit around Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System — becoming the first spacecraft ever to reach orbit around the moon of another planet.
The icy moons of Jupiter are interesting as they are all believed to host oceans of liquid water beneath their frozen surfaces.
Europa, in particular, is regarded as one of the most likely abodes in the Solar System for extra-terrestrial life.
(2) SpaceX Starship
Starship will be the largest spacecraft capable of carrying humans from Earth to destinations in space (the International Space Station is larger, but it was assembled in space).
It will be the most powerful launch vehicle ever to fly, capable of lifting 100 tonnes of cargo to low Earth orbit.
Starship is the collective name for a two-component system consisting of the Starship spacecraft (which carries the crew and cargo) and the Super Heavy rocket.
The rocket component will lift Starship to some 65km altitude before separating and returning to Earth in a controlled landing.
The upper Starship component will then use its own engines to push itself the rest of the way to orbit.
(3) dearMoon Project
The long-awaited dearMoon project, which will take members of the public on a six-day trip around the Moon and back, is due for launch on Starship and was originally planned for 2023.
It will be the first true deep space tourism launch.
This mission will mark a big change in the way we think about space, as previously only astronauts picked using incredibly stringent criteria have been able to go into deep space.
The success or failure of the dearMoon mission could affect whether deep space tourism becomes the next big thing, or it is relegated back to being a pipe-dream.
(4) OSIRIS-REx returning Earth
The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security — Regolith Explorer, mercifully more commonly known as OSIRIS-REx, is a NASA mission to near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
A key goal of this robotic mission was to acquire samples of Bennu and return them to Earth for analysis.
OSIRIS-REx is now fast returning to Earth with up to a kilogram of precious asteroid samples stored aboard.
If all goes well, the capsule will detach from the spacecraft, enter the Earth’s atmosphere and parachute to a soft landing in the deserts of Utah.
Asteroid sample return has only been achieved once before, by the Japanese Space Agency’s Hayabusa 2 mission in 2020.
Bennu is an approximately diamond-shaped world just half a kilometre in size, but has many interesting characteristics.
Some of the minerals detected within it have been altered by water, implying that Bennu’s ancient parent body possessed liquid water.
It also has an abundance of precious metals, including gold and platinum.
It is however classed as a potentially hazardous object with a (very) small possibility of Earth impact in the next century.
(5) India’s private space launch
Skyroot Aerospace, which successfully launched its Vikram-S rocket in November 2022, is soon to become the first private Indian company to launch a satellite.
The rocket itself reached 90km in altitude, a distance that would need to be improved upon to get a constellation of satellites into orbit.
Skyroot’s first satellite launch is planned for 2023, with a goal of undercutting the cost of private space launch rivals by producing its 3D-printed rockets in a matter of days.
If successful, this could also provide a route for cheaper launches of scientific missions, enabling a faster rate of research.
Conclusion
With many bold advances and launches due in 2023, we are entering a new phase akin to the “Golden era” of space launches in the 1960s and ’70s.
29th December, at 7 PM | UPSC Workshop with AIR 109, Areeba Nomaan on a 5-month plan for UPSC 2023 & 18-month plan for 2024 and set daily weekly, and monthly targets | FREE Registration Open
According to UPSC Topper AIR 109, UPSC 2021, Areeba Nomaan, those who can not govern the clock, but get governed by it, will not be eligible for UPSC CSE. Because the foundation of every strategy lies in proper time management. And you can’t value your time without a workable strategy.
Once you master your time, you will understand how easy it is that most of the rankers hit their target of what they can accomplish in under 12 months.
So whether you’re sitting for UPSC 2023 or have made up your mind for UPSC 2024 as your first and final attempt, don’t waste a single minute.
AIR 109, UPSC 2021, Areeba Nomaan, CD’s Super Mentor took the IMP masterclass on cracking UPSC 2023-24 in just one attempt + Important Time management skills and strategy.
Zoom link will be emailed to you post-registration
Key takeaways: How to make a timetable for UPSC?
What should be your approach for the next 5 months even if you have just started the preparation for UPSC 2023? Strategy for the next 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and like that, will be shared with you.
What should be your approach for the next 18 months even if you have not yet started the preparation? Strategy for the next 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and like that, will be shared with you.
How to cover the UPSC syllabus? The syllabus, and not the books, must be completed. Focussing on the essentials first.
Time management You just need to invest effectively 5 hours per day for UPSC success. How to effectively manage preparation time? Make a timetable and set targets. Learn from the UPSC Topper Areeba herself.
Managing UPSC preparation with a serious time crunch; job – working professionals, college students, and family (especially for homemaker aspirants)
She made a UPSC trend analysis and based on that decoded the expectations and pattern of UPSC 2023. Areeba ma’am shared 10 important themes for the upcoming exams that one must not ignore whether it’s UPSC 2023 or 2024.
Short-time smart Revision techniques that are common, standard, and used frequently. What exactly are they?
How to take full advantage of the FREE CivilsDaily’s Preparatory Package and personalized mentorship session
The Make in India and Ease of Doing Business policies were framed because Prime Minister Narendra Modi correctly believed that the problems of poverty and unemployment could only be solved by the rapid growth of the manufacturing sector. Despite these efforts, manufacturing has till now not shown any significant increase in its growth. Investments in the sector remain inadequate.
Development strategies and failures: The development of strategies and plans for implementation and their execution is done by individuals. Repeated failures in this area point to the necessity of identifying the root causes for why existing personnel charged with policy execution have been failing.
Reasons could be: The reasons could be inadequate knowledge and skills, lack of motivation, environmental constraints or weak supervision and monitoring.
Vision by political leaderships, implementation by IAS officers: While the political leadership lays down the vision, the responsibilities for translating these into ground realities are that of IAS officers.
IAS officers in manufacturing
IAS officers ensures adequate skills and training: Most of the senior posts in the secretariats and districts are held by officers from the IAS. They are responsible for ensuring that subordinate civil servants are adequately trained and skilled, motivated and guided to deliver good outcomes.
Frame rules for implementation: They create the framework of rules that constitute the environment for implementation. Therefore, if policies are to be more effectively implemented, IAS officers need to be better equipped.
How should be the role of IAS officers in manufacturing?
Officers should have adequate knowledge: Achieving global levels of cost and quality competitiveness in the sector requires that officers working in areas relevant to policy-making in the central and state governments understand how laws, regulations and procedures impact the competitiveness of industry.
They must know the ways of cost-efficient manufacturing: They should specifically be aware of the various ways in which these add to or reduce the costs of manufacturing.
They should ensure the demand and investment strategy: They need to appreciate the importance of demand creation for enabling industry to achieve economies of scale and how the stability of policies is required for companies to make long-term investments.
What needs to be done?
Need to understand the resources, demand and growth: The importance of profits and the generation of internal resources for growth has to be understood.
Joint efforts and trust are required: This is only possible if the concerned civil servants in the ministries have good domain knowledge of the manufacturing sector and appreciate that government and entrepreneurs have to work jointly and trust each other.
Can IAS officers do this work? What are the challenges?
Gap in policies and implementation: While policies are largely made in Delhi, much of the implementation is done in states.
More trust on public sector while a distrust on private sector: Effective implementation has become complex because of our past history of only trusting the public sector and distrusting the private sector.
Even laws and procedures are based on suspicion: Many of the laws and procedures were based on the suspicion of private-sector industrialists.
Legacy of distrust on civil servants: Equally, the system of checks and balances, inherited from the British, is based on a distrust of civil servants and leads to implementers preferring procedures and correct paperwork over producing results.
Civil servants are not private sector friendly in general: Civil servants are generally not private sector friendly when dealing with issues that have financial implications. This results in long delays, higher costs and loss of competitiveness.
How to equip IAS officers to become more effective in dealing with the manufacturing sector?
Bringing in the best global practices: We need to reform our system of human resource development and bring it in line with the best global practices.
Dedicated wing to be created: A wing be created in the Department of Personnel & Training, and its counterparts in the states. This should be manned by professionals in human resource development whose function would be to select officers on the basis of aptitude from the IAS and other services, and train them to frame and implement policies relating to manufacturing and industrial development.
Experience must be considered: The selection of officers could be made after they have completed around 10 years of service. Thereafter, selected officers would need to be trained and given postings that would enable them to gain more knowledge and experience. This could include secondment to selected private companies so that the officers could get actual working experience. They would then be better able to understand the finer points of competing in the marketplace.
Periodic Capability evaluation should be made: Officers so trained should not be moved to other unrelated areas of work. Periodic evaluations could be made, again by professionals, to identify those capable of moving to the highest levels for making policies and strategies.
The Maruti case study
A system that exists in Japan, and was implemented in Maruti, was to de-link salary scales from job responsibilities.
The most suitable person for a job is selected and his pay did not change upon assuming higher responsibilities, though his designation changed.
Conclusion
IAS officers can deliver results if they are motivated, trained and allowed to work in the area of their expertise. The recruitment system for the higher civil services ensures high-quality entrants. However, that does not automatically mean good results when posted in jobs that require specialized knowledge and experience. They need to be properly equipped to work in the manufacturing sector.
Mains Question
Q. Despite of the efforts to boost manufacturing sector, it has till now not shown any significant increase in its growth. In this context discuss the role of IAS officers and suggest what can be done to improve their role in manufacturing sector.
Many of us are familiar with the concept of what a “chatbot” is and what it is supposed to do. But this year, OpenAI’s ChatGPT turned a simple experience into something entirely different. ChatGPT is being seen as a path-breaking example of an AI chatbot and what the technology could achieve when applied at scale.
ChatGPT by OpenAI: Artificial Intelligence (AI) research company OpenAI on recently announced ChatGPT, a prototype dialogue-based AI chatbot capable of understanding natural language and responding in natural language.
Will be able to implement in softwares soon: So far, OpenAI has only opened up the bot for evaluation and beta testing but API access is expected to follow next year. With API access, developers will be able to implement ChatGPT into their own software.
Remarkable abilities: But even under its beta testing phase, ChatGPT’s abilities are already quite remarkable. Aside from amusing responses like the pumpkin one above, people are already finding real-world applications and use cases for the bot.
A chatbot (coined from the term “chat robot”) is a computer program that simulates human conversation either by voice or text communication, and is designed to help solve a problem.
Organizations use chatbots to engage with customers alongside the classic customer service channels like phone, email, and social media.
What is ChatGPT?
Simple definition: ChatGPT is a chatbot built on a large-scale transformer-based language model that is trained on a diverse dataset of text and is capable of generating human-like responses to prompts.
A human like language model: It is based on GPT-3.5, a language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text.
It is more engaging with details: However, while the older GPT-3 model only took text prompts and tried to continue on that with its own generated text, ChatGPT is more engaging. It’s much better at generating detailed text and can even come up with poems.
Keeps the memory of the conversations: Another unique characteristic is memory. The bot can remember earlier comments in a conversation and recount them to the user.
Human- like resemblance: A conversation with ChatGPT is like talking to a computer, a smart one, which appears to have some semblance of human-like intelligence.
The Question arises: will AI replace all of our daily writing?
ChatGPT is not entirely accurate: It is not entirely accurate, something even OpenAI has admitted. It is also evident that some of the essays written by ChatGPT lack the depth that a real human expert might showcase when writing on the same subject.
ChatGPT lacks depth like human mind: It doesn’t quite have the nuance that a human would often be able to provide. For example, when asked ChatGPT how one should cope with a cancer diagnosis. The responses were kind but generic. The type of responses you would find in any general self-help guide.
It lacks same experiences as humans: AI has a long way to go. After all, it doesn’t have the same experiences as a human.
ChatGPT doent excel in code: ChatGPT is writing basic code. As several reports have shown, ChatGPT doesn’t quite excel at this yet. But a future where basic code is written using AI doesn’t seem so incredible right now.
Limitations of ChatGPT
ChatGPT is still prone to Misinformation: Despite of abilities of the bot there are some limitations. ChatGPT is still prone to misinformation and biases, which is something that plagued previous versions of GPT as well. The model can give incorrect answers to, say, algebraic problems.
ChatGPT can write incorrect answers: OpenAI understands some flaws and has noted them down on its announcement blog that “ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers.
Conclusion
OpenAI’s ChatGPT turned that simple experience into something entirely different. ChatGPT is a path-breaking example of an AI chatbot and what the technology could achieve when applied at scale. Limitations aside, ChatGPT still makes for a fun little bot to interact with. However, there are some challenges that needs to be addressed before it becomes a unavoidable part of human life.
Manis question
Q. What is ChatGPT? Discuss why it is seen as pathbreaking example of an AI chatbot and the limitations?
National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval recently hosted a meeting of his counterparts from five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan — in New Delhi.
This is the first time India is hosting a conclave of top security officials from Central Asian countries focussing on the evolving security situation in Afghanistan and ways to deal with the threat of terrorism.
About the meet
Central Asia is seen as the northern boundary of the Islamic world.
With the Taliban’s return in Afghanistan, the threat of radicalism and possible regrouping of the Islamic State poses a serious security challenge for the countries in the region.
From the security perspective, the NSAs discussed the challenges of extremism, terrorism, and radicalisation in the region.
NSA said financing is the “lifeblood” of terrorism, and countering it should be a priority.
What is the Central Asia Region?
Central Asia is a region in Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north.
It includes the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
India-Central Asia Ties
India has decades-old wish to connect with the resource and fuel-rich Central Asian nations.
Since the emergence of the Central Asian Republics as independent countries in the early 1990s, New Delhi has been trying to establish ties with them.
Trade and collaboration
India’s trade with the five Central Asian Republics—Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan—was below $ 2 billion in 2018.
The potential areas for collaboration include construction, sericulture and pharmaceuticals to IT and tourism.
Much of this trade was routed through Iran, Russia or the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Efforts for connectivity
Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline
Development of Iran’s Chabahar Port
Zaranj-Delaram Highway
International North-South (Transit) Corridor (INSTC)
Central Asia’s importance for India
Russian backyard: Central Asia has always been seen as Russia’s backyard — some 20-30% of the population is of Russian origin, and Russian is spoken widely.
Fossil fuels: While Central Asia is seen as fuel-rich and, hence, important for an energy-starved India.
Mineral richness: Central Asian states are also mineral-rich, and Kazakhstan, for one, has been a source of uranium for India’s nuclear power plants.
Market for India: A country like India which is seen as a major economy has to have a presence in these markets. INSTC also offers a safe and cost-effective route to the EU (European Union) market.
Convergence against Terrorism: India can forge a common position on terrorism and radicalization, which is a matter of concern to the region as much as it is to India.
Hurdles for India
China’s opportunism: China’s trade with Central Asia was $50 billion-$60 billion in the same period. The obvious advantage in China’s favour is geographical proximity.
Lack of mutual trust: Unfortunately, many connectivity options are not open to them today due to the lack of mutual trust.
Pakistan factor: Tensions with Pakistan mean there is no viable land route towards Central Asia.
Iran and the US sanctions: Efforts to look for a circuitous route via Iran (and Afghanistan) have stalled due to US sanctions on Iran.
Issues in the Iran-Afghanistan bypass route
Recent events acquire broader geopolitical relevance for India in this route:
Taliban true-face: The takeover of Afghanistan by the Pakistan-backed Taliban has severely set back India’s plans in Central Asia.
Iran’s bypassing of India: Iran’s overtures has been clearly visible after itself allocating Farzad-B Gas exploration contract to another company bypassing India.
India’s recent engagement
Defence collaboration: In recent years, New Delhi has engaged with Central Asian Republics in the defence sphere through military exercises (say Ex Kazind).
Engagement at UN: Political and economic engagement is also important, given the imperatives of working together at a body such as the United Nations (UN).
Technological ties: India has set up universities there—Sharda and Amity are examples.
Scope for expansion
Dairy Sector: There is scope for collaboration in the dairy sector.
Pharma: Indian firms have been setting up pharmaceutical units in Russia that can serve these countries as well.
Info Technology: IT and IT-enabled services are two other areas.
Cultural connect: Bollywood movies are quite famous in these countries.
Way forward
India needs to develop into stronger bond of trade and commercial bonds which will be possible once the INSTC crystallizes.
The road ahead in the short term is difficult as India doesn’t seem to have any real leverage to get the connectivity projects with Central Asia going.
India has been negotiating with individual bilateral partners though.
Conclusion
India does not want the post-Soviet space to be captured by the Chinese, and the NSAs engagement is a key mechanism in Delhi’s toolkit.
In June 2002, Vajpayee had said in Almaty that the new “Silk Route Initiative” of India’s foreign policy seeks to build a new Silk Road of Friendship and Cooperation between India and Central Asia.
Twenty years later, New Delhi remains on the road, and on the job.
The government is proposing to make changes to India’s six-year-old Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
What is the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)?
The IBC, 2016 is the bankruptcy law of India that seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for insolvency and bankruptcy.
It is a one-stop solution for resolving insolvencies which previously was a long process that did not offer an economically viable arrangement.
The code aims to protect the interests of small investors and make the process of doing business less cumbersome.
Key features
Insolvency Resolution: The Code outlines separate insolvency resolution processes for individuals, companies, and partnership firms. The process may be initiated by either the debtor or the creditors. A maximum time limit, for completion of the insolvency resolution process, has been set for corporates and individuals.
For companies, the process will have to be completed in 180 days, which may be extended by 90 days, if a majority of the creditors agree.
For startups (other than partnership firms), small companies, and other companies (with assets less than Rs. 1 crore), the resolution process would be completed within 90 days of initiation of request which may be extended by 45 days.
Insolvency regulator: The Code establishes the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, to oversee the insolvency proceedings in the country and regulate the entities registered under it. The Board will have 10 members, including representatives from the Ministries of Finance and Law, and the RBI.
Insolvency professionals: The insolvency process will be managed by licensed professionals. These professionals will also control the assets of the debtor during the insolvency process.
Bankruptcy and Insolvency Adjudicator: The Code proposes two separate tribunals to oversee the process of insolvency resolution, for individuals and companies:
National Company Law Tribunal: for Companies and Limited Liability Partnership firms; and
Debt Recovery Tribunal: for individuals and partnerships
What are the changes being proposed?
Easier settlements: The process is being proposed to be divided into two phases—phase I will focus on finding potential buyers and handing over the management to the acquirer. Phase II would address the distribution of proceeds among creditors and settle inter-creditor disputes. This would make an effort to revive the units with better management, wherever possible.
Preventing delays: Average days taken to resolve a case has risen to 679 days in H1FY23 from 230 days in FY18. The changes presently under consideration seek to address inter-creditor disputes, which have been identified as the leading cause of delays.
Why is the IBC seen as a game-changer?
The IBC has proved to be a deterrent for many unscrupulous borrowers and imparted tools to banks to be reasonably confident about recovering NPAs.
Fear of losing control of the firm nudges debtors to settle their dues.
Till September 2022, 23,417 applications for initiation of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), with an underlying default amount of ₹7.31 trillion, were resolved before admission.
Indirectly, the code provides an exit route by winding up commercially unviable units.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court quashed the state government’s draft notification on urban local body elections and ordered that the polls be held without reservation for OBCs.
Precursor to the news
The Uttar Pradesh government had issued a draft notification for the reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in urban local body elections.
Why did the HC strike the draft down?
The verdict comes on the back of PILs challenging the state’s OBC reservation draft.
It was alleged that it was prepared without following the “triple test” formula prescribed by the Supreme Court.
The Court said that OBC reservation in local body polls cannot be provided until conditions mandated in the “triple test” are complied with.
What’s the Triple Test formula?
A five-judge Constitution Bench in the K. Krishnamurthy (Dr.) v. Union of India (2010) judgment said that barriers to political participation are not the same as barriers to education and employment.
While deciding on the legality of OBC reservations in Maharashtra local body elections in March 2021, the Supreme Court set out a three-layered test – also called triple test.
This is something that State governments have to follow to provide reservations-
Step 1: States must set up a dedicated commission to examine backwardness in local bodies.
Step 2: they must determine the size of the quota for communities on the basis of data collected by the commission.
Step 3: These reservations, combined with the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes quotas, cannot exceed 50% of the total seats in the local body.
What did the court observe now?
Reservation to OBCs in local body elections without empirical base can no more be sustainable in law.
The latest order in RR Wagh v. State of Maharashtra & others makes it mandatory that the principles laid down by the Supreme Court for providing reservation to OBCs in local bodies shall be scrupulously followed across the country.
Major takeaways of K. Krishnamurthy Case
In this case, the Supreme Court had interpreted Article 243D(6) and Article 243T(6), which permit reservation by enactment of law for backward classes in local bodies respectively.
It held that barriers to political participation are not the same as that of the barriers that limit access to education and employment.
However, for creating a level playing field, reservation may be desirable as mandated by the aforementioned conditions.
Above articles provide a separate constitutional basis for reservation, as distinct from what are conceived under Article 15 (4) and Article 16 (4) which form the basis for reservation in education and employment.
Reception of the Krishnamurthy Judgment
The Indian political class usually displays apathy to the law declared by the courts as contrary to the enacted law.
The 2010 judgment was not acted upon and the constitutionality of the enacted reservation was challenged.
This resulted in the 2021 judgment of a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court.
What about other states?
In 2021, OBC reservations in local bodies were set aside in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh too on similar grounds by courts.
Earlier this year, the Karnataka and Patna high courts have set aside notifications reserving seats for OBCs in municipal elections in Bengaluru and Bihar.
In May this year, the top court, however, allowed local body polls with OBC reservation in Madhya Pradesh after it proved compliance to the triple test formula.
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